|
(Source: History of Madison County, Ohio
Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co., 1883 - 1159 pgs.)
Unless Otherwise Noted
NOTE: If there is a particular biography that you want
transcribed,
Please contact me
~SW
|
< BACK TO
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX LISTED BY COUNTY> |
MAJ. WILLIAM ALLEN NEIL,
stock-dealer and farmer, residence London, was born at Columbus, Ohio,
January 28, 1836. His father, Robert Neil, is a native of
Clark County, Ky., and in early life was proprietor and manager of a
line of stage running between Washington, D. C., and Lexington, Ky. In
1811, he removed to Ohio, locating at Urbana, Champaign County, and
there resided during the war of 1812. He subsequently went back to his
native State, and afterward came to Ohio again, this time locating at
Franklinton, now Columbus, the capital of the Buckeye State. He now
resides there, and is probably the oldest living pioneer resident. He
was one of the early Presidents of the Little Miami Railroad, and its
principal executive officer for many years. He married Mary M. Hoge,
daughter of Rev. James Hoge, one of the first settlers in
Franklinton, Ohio, and by profession a minister of the Presbyterian
denomination. He preached one of the first sermons of that body in the
new village, and was pastor of the Presbyterian Church there for over
fifty years. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Neil, seven
of whom yet survive, and two are residents of Madison County. William
A. Neil was reared on the old homestead farm (now within the
limits of the city of Columbus, and cut in parts by three railroads),
and educated in the high school of the town. In early life, he was
employed as clerk in a dry goods house, and also learned the jewelry
trade. Indoor life proving disastrous to his health, he resolved to try
farming, and to further that purpose, on April 14, 1856, he came to
Madison County, locating a farm of 1,030 acres on the Midway pike in
Union Township. At this time, there were but two pikes in Madison
County, and the Major, seeing the necessity for good roads for travel
during the rainy seasons, was largely instrumental in bettering the
condition of the roads, and in building the "Midway pike," considered
one of the best in the county. He greatly improved his farm by drainage,
etc., and subsequently sold 230 acres, until at present it embraces 800
acres of the best farming land in the county. Maj. Neil
also took an active interest in the breeding, rearing and handling of
fine stock, and deserves great credit for his efforts in behalf of the
farmers and stockmen in the county. In 1870, he removed to the city of
London, taking up his residence in the fine mansion on South Main
street, erected by Jesse Watson, late President of the
Madison National Bank. Maj. Neil is a member of the Lodge, Chapter and
Council (Masonic) of London, and of Mount Vernon Commandery No. 1,
Knights Templar, of Columbus, Ohio. He is also a member of Lyons Post,
G. A. R., of London. He is Republican in politics, a Councilman, and
Chairman of the Committee on Streets. On May 4, 1864, Mr. Neil enlisted
in Company B, One Hundred Fifty-fourth Regiment Ohio National Guards,
and accompanied them to Camp Dennison, and was mustered into duty on the
9th of the month as First Lieutenant. * Through the kindness of the
Governor, he obtained a furlough, came home, and on the 12th was married
to Sarah E. Chrisman, daughter of Jacob Chrisman, a native
of Virginia, and a large land-owner in Madison County. Leaving his bride
at home, he rejoined his company in West Virginia. While here, he was
brevetted a Lieutenant Colonel, and soon after returned to his home,
having served about four months. Maj. Neil and wife have
three children—Louise, Robert Allan and Grace.
His wife is a member of the M. E. Church.
-------
*He was subsequently elected Captain and Major while at Camp Dennison. |
|
LUTHER NEWCOM,
a Yankee, settled here about 1850, and was among the first teachers.
William Harber, a native of Virginia, and the only surviving one of
his father's family—who were all killed by the Indians when he was but a
child, he having escaped by secreting himself in the tall grass— grew to
manhood, married, and settled in the north part of this township about
1825. He raised a large family of children, but who. in after veal's.
all moved away, since which nothing is known of them. Samuel Wilson
came here from Paint Township, and settled in the west part of this
township, in Survey 6,078, about 1825. but remained here only five
years, when he removed to Illinois, where he died about 1872. He was a
very moral and worthy citizen, and, while residing in Illinois, he
became a devoted member and worker in the Methodist Church. William
Kirkley settled in the north portion of the township, on land owned
by Thomas Bales, about 1825-30. He died on the farm now owned by D.
Ward. He married Mary Cowan, who was an excellent Christian
woman. Peter Smith, a native of Clark County, Ohio, settled here
about 1825. Subsequently he became quite noted as a school-teacher and
as a literary man. He removed to Illinois about 1842, where, in 1880, he
was killed by being run over by a train of cars. Samuel and
John H. Kennedy, natives of Virginia, settled here quite early,
probably about 1815-20. The latter became a prominent and useful
citizen; was a Justice of the Peace forty years; also Probate Judge
from. 1864 to 1876. |
Pleasant Twp. - Page 1033
JOHN M. NICODEMUS, undertaker, Mt. Sterling, was
born Sept. 24, 1838, in Pennsylvania. His parents were John
Nicodemus (deceased) and Harriet Nicodemus. When about
one year old, with them he was brought to Circleville, Pickaway County,
this State, where they remained until he was eighteen years of age.
From thence, with them, he went to Illinois, where he remained until the
breaking-out of the late civil war, and where his father died in 1862.
In April, 1861, he enlisted in the Ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry and
served three months. In November, 1861, he again enlisted, this
time in the Sixty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. With that
regiment he participated in the engagements at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson,
the terrific battle of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, Iuka and others.
He was discharged in March, 1864, at which time he re-enlisted in the
Sixty-sixth Regiment, which now merged into the Illinois Veteran
Volunteer Infantry. He subsequently participated in many
hotly-contested fields, a few of the important ones of which were
Chattanooga, the Atlanta campaign and Sherman's grand march to the sea,
also the surrender of the noted confederate chief - Joseph Johnston's
army. He continued in the service until July, 1865, he married
Miss Eliza L. Bostwick, a lady of merit, by whom he has two children
- Howard L. and Maud S. In 1876, as senior partner with
F. C. Bostwick, he formed a copartnership, in the furniture and
undertaker's business, at Mt. Sterling, under the firm title of J. M.
Nicodemus & Co. The business was conducted under the above
head until April, 1882, at which time Mr. Bostwick withdrew.
It is now under the entire control and management of our subject, who
has dispensed with the furniture trade, and confined himself entirely to
the undertaking. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
and also of the F. & A. M. and I. O. O. F. societies. For nine
years he has served as Clerk of Pleasant Township with credit, and at
this time is still serving, and for eight years has officiated as Mayor
of Mt. Sterling.
Source: History of Madison County, Ohio - Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co.,
1883 |
REV. SETH NOBLE deceased. Respecting the question
of the early ministers of the Gospel in the county, I believe my
grandfather—my mother's father—Rev. Seth Noble, was
the first Presbyterian. I have in my possession a book of " notes " of
his sermons, in his own handwriting, together with the dates and places
where some of his sermons were delivered —about fifty in all—during the
years of 1806-07. He was born in Westfield, Mass., April 15, 1743, and
died in Franklinton—now embraced in the corporation of Columbus,
Ohio—September 15, 1807, aged sixty-four years. His genealogy, as far as
known, is as follows: Thomas Noble was admitted an
inhabitant of Boston, Mass., on the 5th day of January, 1653. He was
probably a native of England. In the year 1653, he moved to Springfield,
Mass., and in about 1669, to Westfield, Mass. He married, November 1,
1660, Hannah Warriner, born in Springfield, Mass., August
17, 1643, only daughter of William and Joanna (Scant)
Warriner. To them were born eleven children, the third one of
whom was Thomas Noble ("Deacon" Thomas), born in Springfield, Mass.,
January 14, 1666, and died in Westfield, Mass, July 29,1750, aged
eighty-four years. He married, December 19, 1695, Elizabth Dewey, born
in Westfield, Mass., January 10, 1677, daughter by William Morrow Beach,
M. D. of Thomas and Constant (Hawes) Dewey, and was ordained as Deacon
in the Congregational Church May 25, 1712. They had eleven children, the
first of whom was Thomas Noble, born in Westfield, Mass., September 10,
1696, and there died February 18, 1775, aged seventy-eight years. He
married (first), September 1, 1722, Sarah Root, born in Westfield,
Mass., March 9, 1702, daughter of John and Sarah (Stebbins) Boot. To
them were born ten children, the youngest of whom being Rev. Seth
Noble.
Source: History of Madison County, Ohio - Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co.,
1883 |
REV. SETH NOBLE, was born in Westfield,
Mass., April 15, 1743. He married (first), November 30, 1.775, Hannah
Barker, who was born in Rowley, Mass., February 19, 1759, the
daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Palmer) Barker, of Rowley, Mass.,
and Maugerville, N. S. She died in "Kenduskeag Meadow," (Bangor)
Province of Maine, June 16, 1790. He married (second), April 11, 1793,
Mrs. Ruhama Emery, of Bangor, Maine, who died in
Montgomery, Mass., in October or November, 1805. He married (third),
Mrs. Mary Riddle, in June, 1807. He joined the
Congregational Church at Westfield, Mass., May 5, 1770. His first
settlement in the ministry was on the 15th day of June, 1774, over the
Congregational Church in Maugerville, N. S., and* the descendants of
that society say that he was ordained at Newburyport, Mass. In 1784, New
Brunswick was separated from Nova Scotia, and in 1789 the meeting house
in which " Parson " Noble had preached was removed to that part of the
town which is now Sheffield, and on the 13th day of July, 1876, Rev.
Joseph Barker, a grandnephew of Mrs. Noble's,
was settled as their pastor. Rev. Seth Noble's
ministry at Maugerville continued until 1777, when upon the arrival of
an armed British schooner, which had come to enforce the oath of
allegiance to King George, he fled, narrowly escaping with
his life, as he was an ardent advocate of the cause of the Colonists. He
became, for awhile at least, a soldier in the Revolutionary army. On the
7th day of June, 1786, he was engaged as the first settled religious
teacher and preacher by the citizens of Kenduskeag Meadow (Bangor) at an
annual salary of £70. He was inducted into office September 10, 1786. He
was not only the first settled minister, but in 1790 he was deputized to
go to Boston and procure from the General Assembly an act of
incorporation, under the name of Sunfield; but being a teacher of sacred
music, and passionately fond of the solid old minor tune of " Bangor,"
he erased " Sun-field " and inserted Bangor in the petition. The field
over which Mr. Noble presided included Bangor,
Brewer, Eddington, Hampden, Holden and
Orrington. He added to these duties the instruction of youth in
English branches, and also in singing. Deacon William
Boyd, of Bangor, says " he was a good singer and had a clear and
pleasant voice. He taught those who were natural vocalists to sing by
note, and was the first teacher of sacred music in the place." During
the Centennial exercises at Bangor in 1876, a brother of Vice
President Hannibal Hamlin's was the orator. In his
oration, he presents the foregoing facts, dwelling upon them at length.
In 1797 he left Bangor and returned to New Market, N. H., where he had
previously ministered to some now extinct Presbyterian congregations,
and in 1799 went to Westfield, Mass., the place of his activity, where
for two years he supplied vacant pulpits in Becket, Blanford, Feeding
Hills, Ireland, Montgomery, Russell and Springfield. From the 4th of
November. 1801, he was the first settled pastor of the church at
Montgomery, Mass , up until his removal to Ohio in the spring of 1806.
The only printed productions known, from the pen of
Mr. Noble, is a nineteen page pamphlet of two sermons
preached at West Hampton, Mass., June 26, 1802, and published by T.
M. Pomeroy, of Northampton, in 1804. I have in my possession a
lengthy letter written me in 1876, by Rev. Elisha D. Barrett,
of Assumption, Ill., who was, at that time, the oldest living Alumnus of
Williams College, in which he says: " I well remember Rev.
Seth Noble as the first pastor at Montgomery. He was tall and
slim, but very active and energetic. His step was quick and firm, and
his gait graceful. He wore a white wig, which he used to powder. His
complexion was ruddy." " As a preacher he was sound and able; and his
sermons were scholarly, unique, systematic and evangelical. On one
occasion, a child by the name of Bartholomew was killed by a falling
tree, and Mr. Noble preached the funeral discourse over
the open grave from Ecclesiastes ix, 12. The effect was electrical, and
proved the most dramatic scene I have ever witnessed." The Congress of
the United States gave public lands to the Nova Scotia refugees. The
refugee lands extend from the Scioto, at Columbus, Ohio, to the
Muskingum, at Zanesville. Mr. Noble's share— 320 acres—fell where
Columbus now stands. In the spring of 1806, he came to Ohio and settled
in Franklinton He built a house on his land, which Mr. Albert
Bartholomew, now of Detroit, Mich., a grandchild, revisited and
recognized about thirty years ago. His first recorded sermon preached in
Ohio was at J. Andrus, at Worthington, April 9, 1806. He preached at
Granville, Licking County, August 17, 1806; at Franklinton, August 24,
1806; " Derby " (Big Darby) September 22, 1806; Bixby's (Delaware),
April 11,1807,and at Berkshire, Delaware County, May 24 and 27,1807. In
1847, whilst I was a dry goods clerk in the store of George A. Hill
&
Co., in Plain City (then Pleasant Valley), James Ewing, the first white
settler of what is now Union County, told me that Mr. Noble had
frequently been a guest at his house, and had preached there a number of
times. There were a number of Presbyterians along Big Darby, north of Ewing's, and among his other preaching places were the houses of the
Mitchells and Woods, the father of the late banker, William Wood, of
Marysville, Ohio, and also at a point or points on Little Darby, over
about the Fullington settlement. Mr. Wood was himself ordained in 1807
or 1808, as is shown by letters now in my possession. Mr. Noble had not
infrequently ministered to Presbyterian congregations in New Hampshire,
in and around New Market, both before and after his settlement at
Bangor, Maine; and it is presumable that he fell into the Presbyterian
ways of his congregations in Ohio with but little embarrassment. History
is history; and Mr. Noble was not only the first pastor at Maugerville,
at Bangor, and at Montgomery, but he was doubtless the first preacher to
the Presbyterians at Franklinton, where he was on a salary and preached
regularly, twice on each alternate Sunday, in 1807. where he had a
church organization of fourteen members, of which Mrs. Lucas
Sullivant
was one. I saw, when a boy, among my mother's papers, the list of names
of these fourteen members; and these fourteen persons were undoubtedly
the persons who, in 1808, composed the " First Presbyterian Church," at
the time of the ordination of the Rev. James Hoge.
Mr. Noble's last recorded sermon was preached in Franklinton, August 9,
1807, from Matthew, xi, 28—"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest." He died on the loth day of the
following month (September), and was buried in the old Franklinton
Burying-ground; but the " march of empire," sweeping over and beyond,
has left no token or sign of the exact spot where his body was laid to
rest. His children by his first wife were as follows: Seth, born August
5, 1777, at Maugerville, N. S., was lost at sea off the New England
coast, October 20, 1798, aged twenty-one; Joseph, born at New Market, N.
H., June 13, 1783, died about 1869, at Brighton, N. B., aged about
eighty-six; Sarah, born June 1, 1785, and died in Montgomery, Mass.,
November 15, 1836, aged fifty-one; Benjamin, born June 25, 1787, died in
Brighton, N. B., April 12,-1860, aged seventy-three; Hannah (my mother),
born in Kenduskeag Meadow (Bangor), Maine, September 11, 1789, died in
Amity, Madison County, Ohio, November 17, .1854, aged sixty-five. The
children by the second marriage were Betsey, Thomas, Polly and
John Adams, all of whom are now dead.
Source: History of Madison County, Ohio - Chicago: W. H. Beers &
Co., 1883 |
S. B. NORRIS,
Principal of the Colored Schools of London, was born at Elizabeth,
Allegheny County, Penn.. November 17, 1838. His father was Zaccheus
Norris, a native of Pennsylvania, and a farmer by occupation. He
resided in his native State till his death, in 1838. He married Nancy
Batch, also a native of the Keystone State. Our subject was the
only child of their union. Mrs. Norris subsequently
married George Myles, a widower, with two children. There
were three children born to this latter union, all living, but none
residents of Madison County. Mrs. Myles departed this life
in Pennsylvania, in 1879. S. B. Norris grew to manhood in the old
"Keystone State," obtaining a good common school education. At
twenty-two years of age, he came to Ohio, and entered Iberia College,
located at Morrow, then under the management of the Free Presbyterian
Church (now Jefferson College, of the United Presbyterian faith). Mr.
Norris remained there the greater part of three years, taking a
scientific course, and graduating in 1867. In September, 1864, he
enlisted in Company A, One hundred and Twenty-seventh United States
Colored Troops, of Ohio, at Pittsburgh, Penn., and was re-organized at
Camp William, near Philadelphia. It became a part of the Twenty-fifth
Corps, Army of the Potomac. The regiment went out late in the war,
participating in the battles of Big Bottoms, on the James River, Fort
Harrison, Hatcher's Bun, witnessed the evacuation of Petersburg, and the
pursuit and surrender of Gen. Lee and the Confederate
.forces at Appomattox Court House. The regiment was then transferred to
Brazos Santiago, Texas, arriving there June 1, and being mustered out of
service September 12, 1865. Mr. Norris was Quartermaster
Sergeant of regiment, and was subsequently detained there as Forage
Master under the Post Quartermaster Sergeant. He remained in that
position until January 28, 1866, when he was honorably discharged. He
then returned to Ohio, and was placed in charge of the colored schools
of Delaware for two years. He came to London in the fall of 1871, and in
September of that year accepted his present position. The fact of his
having been kept in this position ever since shows the high esteem in
which his professional services are held, by both races of people. Mr.
Norris has been an indefatigable worker in the cause of
education, and to him is due the praise for the high standing of the
London colored schools, and the fine school building in which they are
located. Mr. Norris is a member of the Colored M E. Church
of London, and Trustee in that body. He is connected with the Widows'
Sons Lodge. No. 4 (colored Masons), of Philadelphia, and a thorough
Republican. He was married, March 21,1866, to Elmora Osborn,
a native of Delaware, Ohio. Of their five children, the following are
living: Mary E.. Jesse and William H., Birny O.
and James B. are deceased.
Source: History of Madison County, Ohio - Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co.,
1883 |
DANIEL NORTON,
farmer, P. O. Plain City, was born in Darby Township, Madison
County, April 7, 1828. His father, John Norton, was
born in Genesee County, N. Y., in 1799, and soon afterward came to
this county, where he spent his life. His wife, Sarah
(Taylor) Norton, was born in 1802, and, in 1803, came to this
county with her father, Daniel Taylor; she still survives,
and is remarkably active for one of her years. She retains
full possession of her mental faculties, and often entertains her
friends with anecdotes and descriptions of early pioneer days in
Madison County. Our subject is a farmer by occupation and with
the exception of ten years spent in the West, he has given his
life's attention to that honorable vocation. On November 12,
1851, he married Sarah E. Daughterty, a daughter of
William and Mary A. (Bigelow) Daughterty.
Source: History of Madison County, Ohio - Chicago: W. H.
Beers & Co., 1883 ~ Page 981 |
FRANCIS NUGENT,
farmer, P. O. West Canaan, was born in Ireland about sixty years ago; he
is a son of Michael and Christinia (Broadburn) Nugent. He
came to Ohio at the age of nineteen years, and engaged in farming, which
occupation he has since followed. He owns 180 acres of land in
Canaan Township, one half mile from Amity, on the lower pike. He
is a member of the Catholic Church, and in politics is a Democrat, and
has served as Trustee and member of the School Board. He was
married in December 1859, to Isabel Gallaher, a native of
Ireland, who was born in 1825, and died August 27, 1865. She was a
daughter of John and Sarah Gallaher. Mr. Nugent has
had eight children, one son and seven daughters, of whom three survive.
Source: History of Madison County, Ohio - Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co.,
1883 |
|
